Some Kind of Magic

Gr 6–8—During their last summer before high school begins, Cass, Jemmie, Ben, and Justin are all looking for something different. When Ben's younger brother Cody finds a magical fedora that was owned by their missing uncle, things begin to change. The hat leads them to an abandoned building with a tragic history. Despite some reservations, the kids break into the building and find that there seems to be something there for each of them. They nickname their new hangout "Nowhere" and promise to keep their exciting discovery secret. It stays that way until a mishap exposes more about their hideout than they would have guessed. Written from multiple points of view, the book gives each of the characters a chance to weigh in on their summer through their own chapters, but the voices all tend to blend together. The dialogue is often clunky and makes it difficult to really get a grasp of the various personalities. The glimpses of personality that do shine through tend to feel stereotypical.